Deceived
by Wicked-Roses
Summary: Every Potter fan knows appearances can be deceiving. Ch. 2 will start 2nd person POV, so I can use it as a response to 2nd person challenge on WIKTT. SSHG
1. Anti Litigation Scroll

Disclaimer:

On your way to Flourish and Blotts to purchase the latest Harry Potter Quidditch guide, you find an old rolled up scroll. You quickly bend down and pick it up. Upon unrolling it, you discover that it's blank. However, you remember Harry Potter's adventures with the Marauder's Map from his autobiography, _Harry Potter: Before and After Voldemort._

You take your wand, point it at the scroll, and say, "I solemnly swear that I will not sue Wild Rose, because I know that the Potter Universe belongs to J.K. Rowling, her licensors, and her publishers, not Wild Rose."

Suddenly, words magically begin to appear on the scroll. 

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Moony: Ah, you figured out the password.

Prongs: Congratulations, but the words that we conceal so carefully will not be so easily revealed.

Wormtail: Yes, we are the keepers of a story that can only be shown to certain eyes, for it contains a pairing that not everyone agrees with.

Padfoot: At least some people have sense to know that the lovely Hermione shouldn't be with that greasy git. Why would she want him when she could have me?

Wild Rose: Oh, Padfoot, you know Sevvie's sexy. Who could resist that snarky Slytherin? I wonder what he looks like in just black silk boxers. 

Padfoot: Ah!!! Images!!!

Wild Rose: Now that I've punished Padfoot for remarking about my sexy Slytherin, it's time to ask you: Do you _agree with the pairing?_

If you answered yes, then point your wand at the purple button to your right.


	2. A Simple Newspaper Article

Synopsis: Every Potter fan knows appearances can be deceiving. *Ch. 2 will start 2nd person POV, so I can use it as a response to 2nd person challenge on WIKTT.* SS/HG

Deceived

Chapter 1: A Simple Newspaper Article 

The night laid its icy grip onto the sky and pulled itself slowly across. The wind howled and pounded at the citizens of Hogsmeade, frightening them indoors. Many set of eyes were starring at the swiftly rolling clouds that blocked out the light of the moon and stars and replaced it with bolts of lightning. 

In a small, seemingly abandoned house on the outskirts of town, one individual paid no heed to Mother Nature's gathering fury. The windows were nailed tightly shut and the doors as well. The house stood lifeless and cold to the casual observer. If one took a closer look, the cellar door behind the house emitted a faint glow from its edges. 

Beyond the barrier of the door, an unidentifiable figure knelt beside a motionless body. No weapon, no blood, and no visible signs of a struggle could be found at this crime scene. By the look of satisfaction and thrill on the attacker's face, the death wasn't an accident. 

"You should've been nicer to me all those years. You never thought I would even be comparable to you, did you?" asked the stranger accusingly. "Now who's laughing?"

Moving away from the corpse, the murderer reached for a small piece of paper lying on a table. The wrinkled surface and smudged print was clear evidence of frequent viewing. The paper was a brief front-page newspaper article dating back to the week prior. 

The dark form seated itself on a torn, faded rug near the hearth's warmth and gazed into the low flames that devoured the few remaining logs. One hand lovingly grazed over half of the photograph that accompanied the article. 

"Soon, my love, we will be together. Nothing can separate us."

The article was then fed to the dwindling fire. The material was readily ignited and covered by the burning entity. As it turned the printed words into ash, the photo showed its two occupants in a blissful kiss before they too went ablaze. The headline held on the longest. The headline read, "First Gryffindor/Slytherin Wedding in Centuries."

A/N: Thoughts? Review and tell me what you think.


	3. Guess Who?

READ A/N TO AVOID CONFUSION!!!

A/N: I have decided to give this story a slightly different direction from where I originally intended, but that doesn't change who the murderer is or the intentions of said person. I am changing this chapter to second person and making it a response to the 2nd person challenge on WIKTT. I hope this isn't too confusing. "You" are the murderer by the way. But the real question is, "Who is the murderer?" 

Chapter 2: Guess Who?

Severus and Hermione Snape were the ideal couple. She was a young, intelligent witch who was renowned for her defensive charms against the Unforgivable Curses. And he was a pureblooded wizard finally recognized and redeemed for his efforts in Voldemort's destruction. "Brilliant, Heroic, and Inseparable" were what the wizarding publications labeled them. The entire wizarding populace was offering its support and enthusiasm to the unexpected pairing. Everyone except you. You found it difficult to be supportive of their fairytale romance. 

You had waited patiently for Voldemort's defeat, anticipating the moment when you would tell Severus Snape of your love. The moment when you could run you hands through his silky raven locks, taste his thin lips, and gaze into his fathomless obsidian orbs to see your love reflected back. A moment denied to you by his selection of _her_.

He had been your obsession, your driving force. When he announced his engagement, it felt as though your heart had been torn from your chest. You felt empty, alone, and without hope. The days came and went in a bleak blur, rarely leaving the darkness of your home. The deterioration of your health and home came the following year. Broken and lost, the news of the Snape wedding shattered your fragile mental stability. 

The anguish and misery of the past year began to bubble to the surface. Anger was soon to follow. You had suffered months of heartache, while _she_ felt the love that was rightfully yours. With a menacing grin, a plan formulated in your mind. You would have him yet, and exact revenge on _her _in the process_. _


	4. The Leaving Feast

Chapter 3: The Leaving Feast

The jubilance of the Leaving Feast encompassed many of the occupants of Hogwarts, including your sinisterly occupied mind, but failed to yield any response from the withdrawn Mrs. Snape. Her husband among others had been called to assist in the tracking of rogue Death Eaters, owing to his intimate knowledge of them. But he was on a wild goose chase. You had orchestrated the entire ruse with your connections to the shadier members of magical society. With him out of the castle, you could leisurely toy with _her_.

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Worried about him, are you? You have no idea what worrying is. Every time he would leave 12 Grimmauld Place, would you feel your heart go with him, fearing he would never return? How did you feel when he left, Hermione_? Relieved you wouldn't have to endure his presence? You don't deserve him._

__

Let the games begin.

Arising from your seat, you maneuvered in between the circular tables Albus had scattered around the Great Hall, passed dancing graduates, and toward your target. She sat alone and gazed longingly at the couples dancing to the slow rhythm. She and you were the only professors unpaired for the occasion. 

"Would you do me the honor of having this dance, milady?" you requested genteelly. 

"I don't believe I am up to it, Draco."

"Nonsense," you admonished. "No woman in her right mind would pass up this opportunity. How many chances will you get to dance with the witty and dashing Draco Malfoy?"

"You arrogant prat," she replied playfully.

"You have me there, my dear, but what about that dance?"

"I suppose I have no choice."

"You can come voluntarily, or I can make a scene of dragging you kicking and screaming," you commented, grinning at the glare it earned you.  


She finally accepted your outstretched hand and followed you to the dance floor. As you positioned your hands and moved through the steps, you could tell her movements were mechanical. Her mind was roaming. 

"He will be all right, Hermione."

"I know, but I can't help worrying. I don't know what I would do without him."

A pang went through you at that remark, but you would worry about that later.

"He didn't survive years of spying to be lost now," you offered reassuringly. 

"You're right, but why hasn't he contacted me?" she asked in a pleading tone. "I haven't heard from him in weeks. It isn't fair that he had to go on this mission. He has paid his debt."

"You know he would risk exposure by doing so. He is the best qualified compared to me or any other spy of the Order. Most of us started in our sixth year, while his experience dates back to He-Who-Still-Must-Not-Be-Named's first reign of terror."

"It's just frustrating not to be able to even talk to my husband."

"It will be over soon."

"I still cannot believe how you have changed over the years, Draco. Thank you. I needed to talk to someone."

As the music faded, she was lost among the scurrying couples, leaving you with a feeling of accomplishment.

__

Foolish girl, indeed.

A/N: Things are not as they appear... They never are in this story.


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